Woman claims qi gong master disguised assaults as therapy

A textile company director who claims she was sexually assaulted by a qi gong master kept returning to his therapy sessions for months because she believed it was part of the treatment, a court heard yesterday.

The woman, a university graduate in her 40s, told the court the master had fondled her breasts and genitals on various occasions over a six-month period.

The qi gong master, 48, who runs a therapy centre in Sha Tin, denies 15 charges of indecent assault allegedly committed between November 1998 and May 1999. Eight charges relate to the woman.

District Court judge Alan Wright heard that the woman, who is one of three alleged victims, started to visit the man in November 1998 after her marriage broke down.

The judge heard that her frequent visits, sometimes up to nine times a month, involved one-to-one sessions where she lay on a bed surrounded by crystals.

She said she believed at the time the treatment could remove evil spells and drive out evil spirits.

The court was told that after one session in November 1998, in which the woman's breast was massaged by the accused in a supposed attempt to cure an 'abnormal heart beat', she returned the following month for another session, and had her genitals massaged while she remained clothed.